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Mother of slain Colo. woman lobbies for Del. gun bill

WILMINGTON, Del. — If Colorado had a gun control law like one proposed in Delaware, the mother of a 24-year-old woman killed in one of the nation's most deadly mass shootings believes that her daughter might be alive today.

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Mother of slain Colo. woman lobbies for Del. gun bill

At an event in Wilmington, Del., gun-control advocates called for passage of state House Bill 88 to establish a legal process in Delaware for keeping guns out of the hands of those who present a danger to themselves or others. 1/9/14
The (Wilmington, Del.) Journal News

The parents of a woman killed in the Colorado theater shooting were among religious leaders and an expert from Johns Hopkins University who gathered Thursday to urge state senators to try again to pass gun-control legislation.

The Delaware law, proposed last year, would set up a system to require mental-health providers to report to police if they believe that a patient is dangerous. Law enforcement then could ask a judge to order removal of weapons from that person's home and limit access to purchasing weapons.

"This is an extraordinarily important initiative," said the Rev. Robert P. Hall, executive director of the Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families and pastor of Salem United Methodist Church in Newark. Del. "It will save lives."

Along with 11 others, Jessica Redfield Ghawi was killed in the 2012 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. After the attack, a reporter obtained a journal in which the accused killer had described a violent scene to a psychiatrist, according to press reports.

"In this debate we need to learn to listen with open hearts and open minds," said Jessica's mom, Sandy Phillips of Texas, as her husband, Lonnie, stood by her side with a picture of Jessica, who was their only child.

The Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence organized the press conference where Phillips appeared to advocate for the bill. The group wants Delaware legislators to reconsider the bill when they return next week to Dover.

State Attorney General Beau Biden's office drafted the legislation, Delaware House Bill 88, and it was included last year in Gov. Jack Markell's package of gun-control laws. It passed the state House handily but died in the Senate.

Jessica Redfield Ghawi during her internship at KABB-TV, San Antonio. Ghawi was an intern there before she was killed in the 2012 Aurora, Colo. theater shooting.(Photo: Courtesy of KABB-TV, San Antonio)

Shannon Frattaroli, associate professor at Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health, said Delaware's law is based on research. It gives mental health providers professional discretion because they are not mandated to report unless they have a compelling reason to believe the person would commit an act of violence.

The bill's primary sponsor, state Rep. Michael Barbieri, a Democrat from Newark, Del., said Thursday that the bill was a victim of "misinformation and misunderstanding" and those who want to see it revived must speak up.

"We have to continue to push this," he said.

Those who oppose the bill say they are also rallying supporters.

The First State Liberty Political Action Committee, a conservative libertarian group, takes credit for toppling the bill last year. Among the problems the group cites are mental-health providers sharing information with police and allowing a judge to decide on a case rather than a jury. They believe it would wrongly expand state powers, and existing law does enough.

"What supporters of this bill believe the bill is about is already in Delaware law," said Eric Boye of the First State Liberty Political Action Committee. "The measures of this will go far beyond the attorney general's sales pitch and are extremely unconstitutional."

The legislation would give mental health-providers the ability to help people who are in distress, said the Rev. Bruce Gillette, co-pastor of Limestone Presbyterian Church here. A long-time member of his congregation who had a history of depression committed suicide with a gun that was in the house.

"I am supportive of this legislation because I have seen a family go through hell," he said. "We can prevent other people from going through this loss, too."

The bill has the support of the Mental Health Association of Delaware. The National Rifle Association was neutral on the bill — neither opposed nor supportive — when it was proposed last year. A lobbyist for the group said that hasn't changed, but if the bill were amended it might reconsider that stance.